Arkansas Senate again rejects medical-marijuana smoking ban

Bill would restrict measure voters passed in November

Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Conway, walks back to his seat in the Senate after his bill to prohibit the smoking of medical marijuana failed to pass for a second time Monday afternoon.
Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Conway, walks back to his seat in the Senate after his bill to prohibit the smoking of medical marijuana failed to pass for a second time Monday afternoon.

The Arkansas Senate on Monday, for the second time in the past week, defeated legislation that would ban the smoking of medical marijuana.

The 11-15 vote on Senate Bill 357 by Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Bigelow, fell 13 votes short of the 24 required for approval. Seven senators didn't vote on the bill, one voted "present," and one was absent. The bill requires a two-thirds vote for approval in the 35-member Senate because it would change the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment, which voters approved in the November general election.

In an 11-0 vote Monday, the Senate chose not to expunge the initial vote on the bill to clear way for a second attempt. Twenty-three senators didn't vote. The bill in a 10-15 vote failed to clear the Senate on March 6, but state senators expunged that to try again Monday.

SB357 would change the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment to disallow a person to "smoke marijuana in any location in Arkansas." The amendment is Amendment 98 to the Arkansas Constitution, which voters approved in November.

[BILL TRACKER: See the status of all marijuana-related bills in Arkansas Legislature]

Rapert told senators that it's not healthy to smoke because smoke carries carcinogens.

"This was never about medicine to begin with," he said, referring to the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Act. "It's de facto recreational marijuana."

"I'm pleading with you because we must take a stand on what is right," Rapert said.

Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Little Rock, countered that the Legislature doesn't have the authority to ban smoking medical marijuana under the constitutional amendment's ballot title.

"I wish we could. We can't," he said.

If lawmakers banned smoking medical marijuana through legislation, supporters of the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment could challenge the law in court and "they'll win," said Hutchinson, who is an attorney.

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However, Sen. David Sanders, R-Little Rock, said he believes the Legislature has the legal authority to ban the smoking of medical marijuana. "I think there is a method where we can do this," he said.

Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, said senators should defeat Rapert's bill because "voters told us what they wanted."

"I urge you not to substitute your will for theirs," she said.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican and an uncle of Sen. Hutchinson, has said he's also against a smoking ban.

Metro on 03/14/2017

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